Naked On The Vague-Sad Sun

On their new EP "Sad Sun", Australia's Naked On The Vague offer up more depression-drenched slices of noise for the new dark children. Things get started off with "The Horse Part Two", a continuation of "The Horse Is Sick" from their debut. However, where the original "Horse" was a catchy immediate slab of noise-goth, this one goes the other way, all psychedelic doom that stretches and pulls at the limits of it's own structure. Drums announce impending doom. The guitars and synths swirl around in the background. A digeridoo wails lonely from somewhere in the outer reaches of the Australian desert.
"White Blanket" is up next, a lonely chant driven by bassist Matthew Hopkins and supported by the cavernous wail of Lucy Cliche, a drum machine kicks in on autopilot, calling to mind Big Black, if Steve Albini had ever allowed himself copious amounts of eerie reverb. More a piece than a song, it nevertheless holds down the atmosphere.
"Blood Pressure Rising" is the most immediate song of the bunch, recalling "Know Nothing" from the debut, hiccuped bursts of guitar, an impassioned vocal from Hop, and then blackness. Exquisite Corpse, indeed. "Bitings" returns to the flavor of "The Horse Part Two", although truncated into a three minute run time instead of the earlier song's five. Vaguely ambient with a psychotic bent and a death rattle drum, it sets the mood for the EP's title, and final, track. Opening up with a bit of acoustic guitar and miked noise, "Sad Sun" creeps along for six minutes that remind of Throbbing Gristle at their darkest, a dub influence shines through as sounds float in and out of the mix, the pair's vocals and instruments always veering from speaker to speaker, that didgeridoo comes back into the mix, and everything is tribalism, a black magic ritual in the Australian Outback.
Considering your taste, you may not find this EP to be as strong as last year's stunning debut "The Blood Pressure Sessions," but it opens up new avenues for the duo, the introduction of psychedelic and dub elements are a welcome one. If they can strengthen the songwriting on their next release, they'll have a surefire winner. Best of luck to them.

www.myspace.com/nakedonthevague